Imore Asks

So we thanks to a trio of reports from across the Apple-net tonight, we might just have some idea of what the iPad mini will look like. Nothing is confirmed until Apple shows it off on stage, of course, but if we're going to speculate we might as well do it right and ask you, the iMore nation, just what you think about this supposed iPad mini design?

If it's in between a 9.7 inch iPad and an iPod touch, does it make sense it's proportionately narrower than the current iPad but wider than the touch? And that the bezel isn't as wide as the current iPad, but still wider than the iPod touch? How about it being as thin as the iPod touch? Is there such a thing as too thin?

You know the drill -- vote in the poll up top and then give me your insight in the comments below. iMore nation, is this the iPad mini you're looking for?

During a recent iMore show, I was asked to name the best iPhone app I ever bought and it really made me stop and think. When you take free apps out of the equation, and you start to consider what gave you the most enjoyment or stress-relief, or provided the greatest value to your education or business, or made the time you spent with your loved ones, traveling or at home, just that much more special -- when you consider what gave you the most value for your money, it really can be hard to choose just one.

Do you use the current YouTube app a lot and does this move upset you? Did you long ago switch to the more feature-rich if not always as natively functional YouTube.com site, so you're good? Or do you simply not use YouTube?

Vote in the poll above, comment in the comments below, and let me know -- how big a deal is Apple dumping the built-in YouTube app on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad?

Shortly before WWDC 2012 and the unveiling of iOS 6, Rene wrote a monumental article on the "higher hanging fruit" that Apple could still add to the iPhone and iPad to make them more competitive. Sure, iOS isn't for geeks, but that doesn't mean Apple can't show the geeks some love! I for one wish they'd added a few of the things on his list!

The next iPhone is reportedly coming on September 12, so what will Apple call it? For the last two years, Apple has used iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S respectively, so does that mean iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s is next? Apple's internal model number is iPhone 5,1, and the next number after 4 (and 4S) is 5, so could Apple just keep on counting?

Maybe Apple isn't done with 4 yet. Could last year's iPhone 4S become this year's iPhone 4GS with 4G as in LTE? Or could they drop the number and go back to radios like they did with the iPhone 3G, and just call it the iPhone LTE? Are there enough LTE markets to even justify that yet?

They could decide to skip the fives entirely and go straight to 6. It will be the 6th version of the iPhone sold, after all.

Or they could just take a page from Sprint's Android handbook and call it the iPhone 4S II, Epic 4G LTE Touch. Though that probably wouldn't fit on the usual box...

How about "the new iPhone" or just "iPhone"? Sure they'll have to do iPhone (6th Generation) or iPhone (2012) for tech support and store orders, but that's exactly what they've been doing with Macs for years, and started to do with the new iPad back in March. Then they could do "the new new iPhone" next year, reduce the price of this one, and sell it as "the old new iPhone". I kid. Really. Because those names return such productive search results...

You know the drill! Answer the poll up top and then tell me why you picked the name you did in the comments below!

Let's keep this one short and sweet -- on the iMore Show tonight I argued with Rene and Seth about how big the next iPhone screen should be.

Rene doesn't want it much bigger than 4-inches so he can reach all the corners with his thumb and use the iPhone single handily when he needs to. Seth was in the middle, willing to deal with an iPhone that was over 4-inches but not by too much. Me, I want the biggest screen Apple can put on an iPhone without making it a phablet (yeah, I said it!) My hands are already too small to reach every corner on an iPhone today, and I don't mind one bit that I have to use a second hand to do certain things at certain times.

I also want the same 3:2 aspect ratio to remain the same. I realize that's not likely to happen with the 16:9 rumors running rampant, but I don't just want more pixels on a screen with the same density. I want a bigger screen so I can see it more easily too.

Apple will do what Apple will do, but what about you? If you could have it your way, how important is one-handed ease of use to you compared to the benefits of a bigger screen? Vote up top and give me the reasons why below!

Apple shocked a lot of us back in 2010 when they announced iMessage, probably none more than the carriers who for years changed an absolutely obscene amount of money to send short text messages to and fro. When Apple made iMessage free (except for the data change, if you were on cellular) that carrier gouging was put to an end -- presuming everyone you texted used iOS. But is that the case? Do enough of your friends, family, colleagues, and contacts use iMessage to really put the kibosh on SMS?

For me it's still a very mixed bag. Some of my friends use iPhones, so iMessage is easy. Many of my family and the people I work with still don't even use smartphones, let alone iPhones, so iMessage is a non-starter. Also, with the just-released OS X Mountain Lion, Apple has brought iMessage back to the Mac, and you can quickly send and receive texts, pictures, locations, and contacts right on your computer. It's really fast, but it's also messy. Right now my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air are all in a constant race to see which can beep and buzz first and most often.

iOS 6 promises to make some things better, letting us combine our phone numbers and Apple IDs, so at least we won't have to wonder which message is going to which device any more.

But that still leaves us stuck on the old SMS system for all our Windows, Android, BlackBerry, and other non-iOS or OS X using friends and family, with no real future in sight. (Because the odds of Apple creating iMessage clients for those platforms are about the same as the odds of them putting a keyboard and kickstand on the next iPhone...)

So given all that, when you're typing away on Messages all day, are most of the ones you send and receive good old iMessage blue, or cold hard carrier cash green? Do most of the people you text with have iMessage, or do most of them not? Hit the poll up top and then give me the details in the comments below!

We've now seen both pictures and (http://www.imore.com/what-iphone-5-will-look-supposed-parts-assembled-your-supposed-viewing-pleasure) of leaked parts assembled together to give us a look and what might just be the iPhone 5. Assuming they're even close to what we'll see at the September 12 special event iMore posted about earlier, what do you think? Best looking iPhone ever? Worst looking? Somewhere in between?

And if it is real or close to real, what do you think about it looking so similar to the iPhone 4... again? Is it a case of why mess with perfection, or a sign that Apple isn't refreshing the design fast enough?

Is the metal back hot or just really not? Is the headset on the bottom something that works or something that irks? Is the longer screen useful or just wrong?

Check out the supposed iPhone 5 designs, vote in the poll up top, then give me your thoughts below!

We recently asked you if it was time for Apple to start releasing multiple color options with the iPhone 5, and 65% of you so far have voted "yes" so far. That got us to thinking -- what about the rumored iPad mini? While Apple has been content to keep their flagship products on a very strict color palette over the years -- metal, black, and maybe white -- the lower ends have historically been much more colorful.

The smaller, lower-end iPods have been nano-chromatic and shuffle-sensational for years, and Apple has mixed the exact shades up a few times to keep them fresh and fashionable. Would the same approach work for a lower-end iPad mini? Is that where Apple is most likely to make concessions towards the colorful? Would you even want them to?

As always, vote up top and give me your reasons -- and your favorite colors! -- in the comments below!

Apple released their all new OS X Mountain Lion operating system for the Mac today, and at only $19.99 it's priced to move. But did it move you? Did you update to OS X Mountain Lion today, the very moment it came out? If so, how's it working for you?

If you didn't update, are you waiting a day or a week to see if there are any bugs first? Are you using those who did update as your final line of beta testers? If so, how long will you wait, and what specific issues are you looking for?

Are you working on a production machine and can't afford to update to any new software any time soon? Are you always a few months or a year behind? Are there apps you absolutely need updated before your OS is updated? Which ones?

Or are you simply never going to update? Is your Mac too old for OS X Mountain Lion? Or do you just not like the direction Apple's going with its desktop operating system?

And if you don't use the Mac, but Windows or Linux or something else, does Mountain Lion tempt to switch, or make you even happier you're not using the Mac?